Markerlight
Laser pointers with attitude, and a key component of Tau strategies. Not to be confused with the angry flashlight.
Markerlights are dropped on units by units that have a weapon of the same name. It's functionally a laser designator and it puts a Markerlight counter on the target. Markerlight counters can be removed to do one of the following:
- Improve one of your units (which is firing at the markerlighted unit)' BS by one.
- Lower the cover save of the markerlighted unit by one.
- Fire a Smart Missile from a Skyray Missile Gunship at the markerlighted unit.
And that's not even the full extent of it!
Suffice to say, this is Awesome and a component of what makes the Tau fun to play, since the markerlight support is so versatile and useful. Hell, entire combat styles can be built around the strategy of mass-markerlights and using Skyrays as artillery pieces, which frankly, is sweet. There's also a lot of ways to get Markerlights on the tabletop, from the heavily-armored Skyray, to the mobile Pirahna skimmer, to the lowly Pathfinder.